


For You

by Jb1667



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Best Friends, F/M, Friendship/Love, Just gonna tag characters as they come into the story, Pre-Relationship, blood mention, long fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-26
Updated: 2019-04-30
Packaged: 2019-05-28 22:01:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 16,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15058733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jb1667/pseuds/Jb1667
Summary: Yuffie chances upon Vincent after he's spent a year avoiding her, and though she has bitter feelings, unfortunate circumstances have them spending time together





	1. Cold

**Author's Note:**

> Set in post-Doc time frame  
> I'm pretty new at writing, so I don't know how often I'll update but there's a few chapters already done. 
> 
> Hope you like it!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Major edits to first chapter! To make it less boring.

   The moon shone across the rocky, uneven landscape, reflecting brightly off of the snow blanketing everything as far as one could see, the crescent moon's pale light amplified into a cold likeness of daylight. The light dimmed with sparse clouds drifting through the night sky, thin showers of snow falling on occasion. Thick sheets of snow lay atop forests in valleys, rocks and cliffs, and each peak of every mountain. Throughout the region, unending winter claimed every meadow, plain, lake and stream, leaving a pure and nearly untouched wilderness.

   One man stood, lost in thought. Snowflakes fell, gently resting upon his deep red cloak in his stillness. His eyes came to rest on the moon, though its natural beauty was not what occupied his thoughts. Over the constant roar of wind, he heard a noise. Unidentifiable, but unnatural. Immediately awakened from his ponderings, he brought his hand to his gun.

   Something grasped his ankle. Shock and alarm shot through his body. Before he could react, a familiar voice called out loudly.

   "HEY!"

   The voice came from below, and looking down he was met with a young girl in a hooded white cloak staring back up at him with intensity. She was clinging to the cliff face with gloved hands and spiked boots.

   "I thought that was you! Scared you, huh?"

   He looked away, closing his eyes. He sighed, trying to relax. It was true, she had actually scared him, and he wasn't going to let on.

   "Yuffie..."

   He crouched down, looking her in the eye.

   "You've crossed the line." He said, in a serious tone.

   "How, what line?!" She replied.

   "How much you are allowed to annoy me." He said, his tone unchanging, but there was a feeling of a smile behind his flat expression.

   "Wow, you really did get scared, huh?"

   Ignoring her question, he offered her a hand. She accepted, thanking him as he helped her over the ledge. They sat in silence for some time, Yuffie's expression unreadable, her eyes focused on something far away.

   She glanced at him, he was also staring off into the distance. She risked a longer look. His long black hair was covering half of his face that wasn't covered by his cape and bandanna, tossed about by the strong winds. He wasn't a pretty sight, doubtlessly he had been out here fighting or doing whatever he does for a long time. His clothes were basically soaked by snow and mostly covered in dirt. His hair had that sort of "body" it got when he hadn't washed or brushed it in days. She imagined she didn't look a whole lot better.

   Still, there was that feeling she got whenever she was with him, a sort of excitement. It was like she was lucky to be by him, to actually be speaking with him and have his attention, a feeling which she hated. It was like his constant absence made his presence more valuable.

    _But it's your fault you're never around, why do you deserve special treatment?_

   She would ask herself this often, despite the fact that she was the only one who gave him special treatment. She always called, just to be ignored, always checked up on him through other people, and even today had followed him for a long distance when she thought that the figure she saw from far away might be him. How many times she had secretly done this, only for whoever, or whatever she had been tracking to turn out to be false alarms, she could not remember. She had even spent time while on important WRO missions doing this. Now here he was, completely oblivious to what she went through because of him, unapologetic.

   She had been angry when she thought about him often. When she would hear that he had talked to Cloud, or even Nanaki, who she knew he didn't especially like talking to, her blood would just boil. They had always been a little closer to each other than anyone else. Maybe at first because he was the only one who had enough patience to deal with her, but she had begun to think after a time it was simply that they enjoyed each other's company. And she did enjoy his company. She had always admired his power in combat, and he was great at keeping secrets.

   However, during the time that he had been away, she had begun to doubt everything she had thought about their friendship. Maybe she had projected her own feelings onto his actions, just clinging onto anyone who was halfway nice to her like she always did. Just because she had never seen him talk to anyone else privately, didn't mean that she was special, as she was beginning to learn. It was always some important information rather than small talk, when she would hear of the conversations he had with others, but hadn't it been mostly the same with her? It turned out that he actually liked talking to other people more, if his conversations with Shelke were any proof.

   She took another long look at him.

   She turned to him, hands hitting her knees she had drawn up to her body in the cold, making a soft clap.

   "So, what are you doing out here?" She asked, expression neutral, voice upbeat.

   "...I'm going home for a while." He said, after taking a few seconds to break out from his thoughts.

   "Why are you here?" He asked her, with a slight hint of suspicion.

   She looked at him with a devious smile.

   "So you live around here?" She asked.

   "You're not getting my address. ...And you didn't answer my question."

   She looked up, thinking.

   "Why am I here?" She mused.

   "No materia! I mean, no reason! Just passing through!" She said, waving her hands defensively.

   "Please don't tell anyone... I'm not supposed to keep gathering powerful materia on my own, but I need to, it's just what I do..." She admitted.

   She hugged her legs tightly, tucking them up close. She looked up at him, worried, as he rose to stand, saying nothing. He turned to leave, his cape swept dramatically by a bitterly cold gust of wind.

   "It does not matter to me if you obtain more materia or not. Goodbye, Yuffie." He said, beginning to walk away.

   Anger began rising up within her. She couldn't believe he would brush her off like that, and it hurt. She should have expected it, she thought. She stood up, still feeling small, but determined to speak her mind.

   "Hey!" She yelled.

   "You aren't even busy! Do you really hate me that much?" She said, typically having difficulty articulating her feelings.

   "I'm going home." He said simply.

   "Vincent, wait up!" She yelled at his back.

   She stepped up to his side, hands clenched in fists. She looked up into his eyes, unable to put her feelings into words. He looked back at her, feeling guilt that did not show in his cold expression. He deserved her anger, he thought. He knew that she was trying hard with him, trying to keep in contact. He hadn't wanted to hurt her, but knew he wouldn't be returning her calls or meeting up with her outside of emergencies either. It seemed to him to be a sort of hopeless situation. Neither of them would allow for compromise, so it was easier to avoid her altogether.

   He was unsure of how much time had passed, with her staring at him, trying as hard as she could manage to form her feelings into words. He decided he should be the one to break the silence.

   "What is it, Yuffie?" He asked gently.

   "One day I'm really gonna stop asking you to hang out. Everyone will have their own lives, ...I guess even me. And I'll stop tying so hard to talk with you. All our time together, and the things we all went through, will just be a distant memory..." She said, looking out, not at him, focusing on nothing.

   "Are you really ok with that? Am I the only one who wishes we could stay close?" She asked, looking him in the eye, anger and distrust showing through her own.

   He looked away, obviously thinking about the question. She looked down. Regret washed through her. Maybe that was harsh, she thought.

  _I shouldn't have said that_

   "Look, I'm sorry, just forget it. It's whatever..." She apologized.

   "It's alright, Yuffie." He said, feeling that he should be apologizing instead of her.

   She turned her face away, tears welling up. Again, she was trying to form the words she needed to say. In all the times she imagined seeing him again, never did she think it would be like this. Despite her apology, her anger did not dissipate, and it showed in her face.

   "Vincent, I haven't seen you, in like.... a year." She said as tears began to fall.

   He looked into her dark eyes, observing the redness of her skin from tears and biting wind. It hurt him, he knew he was at fault but not what to say.

   "It's been that long..." He said.

   He looked down, not wanting to watch her wipe the tears from her face, knowing the embarrassment they caused her. Finally her anger faded into sadness and hurt, and she shivered as the wind seemed to blow straight through her.

   "Yeah... I just turned twenty."

   Having said all she was willing to, she suddenly wanted to leave. If he didn't want to hang out, that was fine, it's his right, she thought. She could rest easier knowing that she had tried.

  _I can't leave it like this though, I kinda didn't mean some of that..._

   "Hey, I wasn't serious when I said I'd stop asking you to hang out..." She said, smiling even though her face was red and wet from tears.

   "I'm not giving up on you, you aren't getting away that easy! Next time we see each other lets definitely hang out!" She said, trying her best to be as cheerful as she always acted.

   She quickly turned away, towards the cliff face she had climbed to get there.

   "Goodbye, Vincent." She said.

   "Goodbye Yuffie." He said, more out of habit than anything.

   With her face hidden, her resentment showed in her eyes. She would be fine after a good night's sleep and a shower, she thought, but not now. She crouched down and began climbing down, back to her chocobo. She just wanted to go home.

   He wasn't satisfied with leaving her like this, and at the same time felt frozen, unable to speak the right words or even ask her not to leave. This was not something he was prepared for, and for a few moments he just tried to gather his thoughts.

    _Should I go to her? Would that upset her? Do I owe her an apology...? Which action or actions do I apologize for?_

   He took another few moments, letting the wind cut through him, to feel the pain in his body that reminded him of what he was, as if punishing himself would make this right. He turned, looking at the moon, some part of him hoping that if he took another few moments that this would resolve on its own. He knelt down, examining the rocky ledge that he had pulled Yuffie up from, wondering how such a small girl had the strength to climb up something he never could have hoped to in his prime. While he was fully human, anyway.

   Looking over the edge, something caught his eye. His eyes widened in horror, realizing that it was Yuffie, on her side, unmoving on the ground a ways down.


	2. Cold

   Vincent dropped down immediately, feet landing hard on the rocky ground, pain shooting up his legs and back, even with his enhancements from the experimentation. He knelt at her side grasping her shoulder with his claw.

   "Yuffie! Yuffie...!"

   He tried to get a response from her, shaking her shoulder gently, carefully.

   "Give me a minute... my head hurts..." She said weakly.

   He closed his eyes, letting out the breath he was holding. As soon as he opened them, he began assessing the situation. Immediately his attention was drawn to the blood. A spot on the left side of her rib cage had been hit a rock on her way down, he guessed. It had ripped through the layers of her clothes, but the skin under could not be seen for her blood. Red seeped through her coat surrounding the area. He reached for his materia, but there was none. He had not come equipped, as he rarely needed materia for the missions he had been doing as of late. His body's healing abilities were enough for the few times that he was injured.

   Her body was twisted, with her legs off to the side and her shoulders nearly flat to the ground. He lifted her hand into his.

   "Yuffie, move your fingers if you can." He asked of her, sounding much calmer than he was feeling.

   She moved her hand, clenching it into a fist and releasing her fingers.

   "Now, the other hand."

   He carefully reached over her for her other hand. She moved in the same way as before.

   "So far, good..." He quietly said to himself.

   He moved to her feet, gently pulling one of her boots off, exposing her small foot to the elements with only a sock to protect it.

   "Now move your toes if you can."

   She opened her eyes, confused and upset.

   "Put my boot back on, its cold!" She demanded.

   "Just do as I say." He replied, unfazed.

   "You're weird!" She yelled at him.

   She did as he asked, and he put her boot back on, then removed the other.

   "Now, the other side." He said.

   She wiggled her toes, sighing in an annoyed way.

   "It's really not a big deal! I just slipped on some ice on the way down. It was a dumb mistake, but I was..." She trailed off, not wanting to make it seem that he was at fault for her distraction and fall.

   "Should be safe to move you." He said.

   He put his arm under her shoulders, supporting her and slowly lifting her up to a seated position. He continued to hold her, but she tried to pull away, looking suddenly unwell.

   "Ugh, I feel sick... Let go of me!"

   He barely had time to release her before she turned and vomited onto the snow. Once she had stopped heaving, she sat up again, weakened greatly. Vincent put his good arm around her shoulders.

   "Why am I so dizzy..." She wondered aloud.

   She took a moment, then turned to him.

   "I'll be fine, don't worry about me getting home. I'm gonna call my chocobo." She said, barely able to focus her eyes on his.

   "No." He said firmly.

   "I think you may have a concussion, you should absolutely be watched. Aside from that, your condition..."

   He seemed to continue on only in his head, as if he were talking to himself. Yuffie was sitting up by herself now, and he had removed his arm from her. She was glad for it, she was still nauseous and even the weight of his arm had made her feel slightly claustrophobic. She was pretty sure a concussion was getting hit in the head, but couldn't remember what it meant would happen. They sat side by side in silence for a few moments.

   "So... Like.... Am I gonna die maybe?" She asked, looking at the ground.

   "It's possible." He answered truthfully.

   "We will see the severity of your injuries as symptoms manifest." he stated.

   She put her hand to her head, closing her eyes, not bothering to listen to his sentence full of confusing words.

   "The hell.? I've really done it this time, huh..." She said, tiredly.

   She immediately pulled out a whistle from her jacket and blew into it. In a few seconds a beautiful golden chocobo was looming over them. When the bird heard her rustling through her pocket, it warbled, eyes sparkling. Yuffie pulled out some greens, and held them up for the bird to eat.

   "This is Butterscotch." She stated proudly.

   She watched Vincent looking up at the huge bird that was happily distracted by her food.

    _I'm still mad_

   "Don't look." She told Vincent.

    _If he falls for this I'm gonna be pissed_

   She started to unzip her jacket, as he watched, confused. Suddenly understanding, he looked away and covered his eyes.

   "What are you doing? Stop. You really shouldn't be changing clothes in this cold, I don't understand that..." He said, still not looking.

   She took the opportunity to soundlessly board her chocobo and get a head start through the wilderness. She had made her way in worse condition than she was in now, and no asshole was gonna keep her from doing what she wanted while she was still breathing, she thought. She looked back as her chocobo followed its own route home, and fast.

   "See you in hell, Vincent!" She yelled, laughing hoarsely.

   Vincent turned at hearing the distant voice, not believing what he was seeing. In the few seconds he had his eyes covered, she was gone. And if they gained any more distance he would never be able to catch up to the gold chocobo, even if he transformed. It was the most cunning and idiotic thing he had ever seen, he thought. It was a great plan, but if it worked she would most likely die. He felt a bit ashamed at how easily she had tricked him. He knew he should not have let his guard down, and now she was in danger.  
He jumped and ran after her, a movement almost too fast for human eyes to perceive. He was never especially athletic, but called on all the power he had, short of transforming, in an attempt to catch up with the highly trained and specially fed gold chocobo. To his surprise, he sprinted just in front of the bird, holding out his hands to halt its movement.

    _It must not have been going full speed..._

   "When'd you get so fast?!" She yelled.

   "Stop!" He said firmly.

   "Seriously?! Falling for that trick?" She said bitterly.

   The chocobo had been angered by his actions, and started attacking, its huge beak striking his forehead, then his forearms as he raised them to block his face.

   "You must be like, the biggest idiot in the world! Just leave me alone!" She cried.

   "Call it off! Stop running away!" He said, almost yelling, struggling to push the chocobo's beak away.

   Without a word, refusing to look at him, she pulled some high quality greens out of one of the saddlebags. Just the sound distracted the bird from Vincent. Yuffie held out her hand, and Butterscotch ate, very pleased with herself. Vincent backed away slightly, staying alert. Even in her condition, Yuffie should not be taken lightly. Her bird was not defenseless either, as this humbling experience had taught him. He watched her tend to the bird, patting its head and scratching behind its ears. It was good, he thought, that she had a powerful and fast, loyal animal by her side to protect her in the wilder places of the world.

   "Don't run away. You could die." He told her.

   He looked up at her with concern, hoping that she would understand that he was trying to help her. Her gaze was cold, seeming to look right through him. He winced dispite himself, had not seen her like this before, and it unnerved him.

   "If I'm gonna die, I'd rather die with Butterscotch, she's been a good friend to me." She said.

   Her words were not angry, but they seemed to hurt him all the more for it. He reached out towards her hand, stopping just short of touching her, and let his hand drop, unconsiously holding his arm back with with his other hand. He looked away.

    _Perhaps I deserve this..._

   "I will not let you die." He said resolutely.

   "So, ...please let me help you." He continued.

   He could not look at her as he waited for her answer. She was quiet, as he never knew her to be.

   "I'll think about it." She replied.

   "We should get going." He said, still not looking to her.

   He started off, and to his surprise, she followed him without complaint or question. He set a quick pace, aware that her compliance was suspicious. Even as tired as she was, he wouldn't put it past her to bolt again. However, he thought, she was not the only one who could employ tricks. He would use a kind of bait to distract her, and if there was one thing Yuffie loved to do, it was talk.

   "So, how did you come to own such a rare bird?" He asked.

   He could see her eyes light up.

   "Oh, Butterscotch? She actually used to be Cloud's, but after he got Frenrir he gave her to me. I didn't know a whole lot about how to take care of chocobos or anything, but he pointed me to some people who could help, and like he gave me her cause he understands how it is to have motion sickness, and it's not like he was really taking her anywhere after he got the motorcycle or anything, you know, like can't let a great chocobo go to waste..."

   He fought a smile at how easy she was to manipulate. He really knew her too well, and had not realized how he had missed her. It hurt him to see her like this, the blood and even her face, the colour was wrong, her eyes dark.

   It would take even longer to get to his home since they had fallen, and he had to lead the chocobo around the steep face of the mountain. He kept his speed fast, but it wasn't easy terrain to cover and the deep snow slowed him down, even if it didn't slow the chocobo. He considered this for a moment, then carefully motioned for the chocobo to stop. He climbed on the chocobo behind Yuffie. She turned to give him a disapproving look, inching away from him.

   "Can you ask it to go faster?" He asked.

   "Yeah, I can 'ask it' but you need to tell her where to go since you won't tell me where the hell you live." She said.

   "I don't know how to direct it, does it have reins?" He asked.

   She scoffed and rolled her eyes.

   "Maybe just get off and guide it like you were before then?" She said, annoyed.

   He hesitated, then did as she said. He didn't like the idea of taking longer to get her to safety, but it didn't appear as if she would be willing to teach him how to ride the chocobo. Upon closer inspection, there were no reins of any kind and he wondered if maybe she simply directed it through some mysterious telepathic power. He had never actually ridden a chocobo by himself before, and though he had been around them as much as any regular person, he found riding them a bit intimidating.

   They started up where they had left off, and he again became concerned she might try to leave. Her mood dropped since he had tried to join her on the bird, and they traveled in silence. He struggled to think of a topic as interesting to her as the last one, and finally decided to leave it up to her.

   "Talk to me. Perhaps... If I can hear your voice, I will know you're awake." He said.

   She looked down, thinking of his words with a strange expression. She laughed, with a slight bitter tone.

   "'Talk to me'? That has to be... Is that like the first time you've said that, like ever? You're scaring me, like maybe I already died and I'm in a weird upside down hell world like in the movies." She said.

   He looked at her, unsure of what to say. He knew that in her eyes, she had him. No matter what she did or said he had to help her anyway. He shook his head. This was probably her revenge, and he could not blame her for that. They were nearing the end of the cliff face, and from there would have to climb. The fastest way he could think of to get to town would be to cross the mountains from high up, since the town itself could only be accessed from the mountains from this side anyways. The gold chocobo would have no problems, but he wasn't sure he could say the same for himself. The only hope they had would be to travel fast, before the cold overtook them, but without the benefit of the chocobo's speed, they most likely would not make it. Even if they found shelter and waited out the night, Yuffie would not survive the night without medical help. He would have to convince her at some point to let him ride with her, or by some miracle, find healing items and shelter.

   He became so absorbed in his thoughts that he was startled a bit when she spoke.

   "Talk to you huh...?"

   She looked up at the sky lightly sprinkled with clouds, the snow had mercifully stopped. There was a silence for a time, and he tried to clear his mind and open himself up to any opportunities they might find that would increase their chances to make it through to tomorrow.

   "HEY!" She yelled excitedly.

   He closed his eyes, breathing out slowly. She had managed to startle him again, and he tried not to show his irritation.

   "What is it, Yuffie?" He asked calmly.

   "Remember when I used to like you?" She asked, chuckling.

   He waited for her to continue, figuring it was a joke.

   "Like, remember when I got you those flowers?"

   "Not sure..." He said, not giving her words much thought.

   "OK! I'll tell you then!" She said, a with a little of her usual pep.

   What she described really didn't ring any bells for him, and he was doubtful that her memory was correct.  
 

   "Are you sure it was me?" He asked.

 


	3. Flowers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A flashback to OG

  
   The sun shone over endless green plains and meadows of wildflowers, a warm breeze rustled long blades of grass and moved several puffy white clouds through the blue sky. Yuffie stood, beaming, as she tried to hide behind her a fistful of red and yellow wildflowers and blades of grass that had been yanked from the soil with roots still attached.

   Vincent had stood up when he saw her walking closer, assuming something had happened for the girl to disturb him when he had gone so far away from their group to be alone. He became fairly confused when she stared up at him, grinning wildly. He had never spoken to her alone before, and knew that she wasn't above stealing from any one of them. He was on guard, and a bit uncomfortable with the way she was staring so intensely into his eyes.

   "Hey, like... Don't tell anyone, cause it's embarrassing... but... I like you!" She said forcefully, never breaking eye contact, looking as victorious as if she had just won all rounds at battle square with her hands tied.

   He was taken aback by her confession, watching in stunned silence as she bowed, offering him some flowers.

   "I got you these, so please accept them." She offered sincerely.

   He lowered his head slightly, hiding more of his face behind his cloak. He was highly uncomfortable at this point, completely unprepared.

   "I'm afraid I cannot accept." He said.

   Her whole body slouched and she looked up at him, exasperated, her arms hanging by her sides.

   "Seriously? It's not like I'm asking you to like me back, just take the flowers. You're lucky I even like you." She said, annoyed.

   He hesitantly held out his hand for the flowers, and she straightened up, handing them over.

   "Gawd, I always go for the weirdos... I'm kinda outta your league anyway, old man." She said, looking at the ground.

   He watched the grass at their feet sway in the wind as well.

   "I don't... understand." He said finally.

   "Huh? Oh." She said, having forgotten for a moment that he was there.

   "Why tell me then?" He asked.

   She smiled a little, watching the sky instead of looking at him as she spoke.

   "Sometimes, you just gotta let someone know how you feel then let it go. It's simpler that way. I mean, come on, you and me aren't going anywhere, you know?" She said, laughing a little.

   A bigger question haunted him.

   "Why... Me?" He asked, his brows furrowed.

   She grinned again, enjoying having some information he really wanted to know. She watched him, waiting, trying let suspense build, but he didn't seem to notice. It seemed to her like he was somewhere else.

   "It's not that deep!" She said, laughing.

    He looked at her quite seriously, making her laugh more. She put her hands in her pockets, rocking back and forth on her heels, watching the grass once more. Stopping, she looked up at him again.

   "Uhh... I guess you're like the most beautiful person I've ever seen." She said, with the same intense stare as her last confession.

   He looked away immediately, unprepared again.

   "Perhaps you have not seen many people?" He offered, keeping his voice and expression calm.

   "Haha, yeah, you're probably right!" She said, doubling over laughing, partly out of her own embarrassment.

   She wiped her tears of laughter, not meeting his eyes. He watched her, slightly concerned. He respected the strength of will it must have taken her to say those things to a stranger, but wondered if she was alright.

   "Like, that's not the only thing though, I was surprised how strong you are and how good with materia, like magic materia and stuff..." She trailed off, avoiding eye contact.

   "OH! And the thing with the monsters?! TOTALLY COOL!! Like I've NEVER seen anything like that! That's totally scary as HELL!" She said, looking at him with a big smile.

   He looked away, a small smile behind his cloak, but pain showing in his eyes. He didn't blame her, there was no way she could understand the absolute horror he felt at having his own body scientifically altered against his will. To a child, seeing something like that might be amazing. For one as strangely brave as her, anyway.

   She watched him, waiting for him to say something. He was somewhere else again, she concluded.

   "Uhhh, Bye!" She said awkwardly, waving a little.

   He looked up and she was already running back. Seeing her run automatically triggered him to check his pockets and materia slots. Nothing was gone this time, but he had not really expected anything different.

  _What a bold girl..._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This started as a comic, but i decided it simply took to long to draw it all out and made it into a fic!


	4. Cold

   By the time Yuffie finished her story, they were well up the first mountain. Her story had been a confusing non-chronological series of ramblings involving things that had happened that day, earlier that day, days surrounding that day, recent days and likely the future and involved a whole lot of details that weren't important to the story and missed a whole lot of what he felt were key parts of the story, but part way through her version of what happened he began to remember everything. It was strange to remember his interactions with her before he knew her. In his mind it was as if they had always been as close as they were now.

   "Hey, do you think that's what started us being friends?" She asked.

   He thought about her question, but did not share his thoughts. She seemed much more alive after struggling to describe that memory, and he was glad for it. Her lively demeanor strengthened his confidence, and prospects didn't seem so bleak even though their situation had not changed. He heard a low growl, and stopped, the chocobo halting as well. He scanned the area, not immediately seeing the source of the noise. He placed himself in front of Yuffie, drawing his gun. He saw her giant shuriken hit something in the dark, flying back to her, and he shot the remaining bandersnatch without even fully seeing it. It hit, killing it quickly. He could take no chances, even with these weak monsters. He left his gun drawn, as the wolf-like creatures often ran in packs.

   "Hey, go check their bodies..." Yuffie whispered.

   He hesitated to leave her, then realized what she was after. The only types of items enemies of this caliber could manage to hoard were fairly useless, like weak health potions. Unfortunately they were in dire need of anything they could get.

   He rushed and turned over the bandersnatch he had killed. There was no sign of any items. He searched the bloody corpse of the one Yuffie's shuriken had nearly cut in half. He saw a glimmer in the dim light and pulled a hi potion from underneath it, and returned to Yuffie, trying to wipe the blood off of it with his cloak on the way. He briefly examined her wound while she drank the potion. The wound had not closed and was slowly bleeding still. He was amazed that she was still conscious, with the head injury as well.

   "I really don't miss those. It's like drinking salt water or something. ...Well sort of, kinda like something else... can't remember what... Materia's way better." She said.

   "If you were here looking for materia, why don't you have any?" He asked.

   She looked confused for a moment, then she suddenly realized what he meant.

   "Oh, that was a joke, but you didn't let me finish it. Ass." She said, rolling her eyes.

   "Hmm... What where you here for then?" He asked.

   "Um, there's this weird guy out here that sells these rare high quality greens that will make your chocobo a better racer. AND he knows like all this stuff I guess, they call him the Chocobo Sage but whenever I talk to him he doesn't remember anything and doesn't know what's going on. Anyway though, the stuff he sells, you can't buy it anywhere else! At least that's what they say... Oh, anyway I was just on my way back from there and I saw you." She explained.

   He was determined to make up for time lost during the scuffle by increasing his speed to his limit. His feet felt as if they were actually freezing, and they may have been, with the temperature of the metal armor covering them. They would heal later, and he would push through by strength of will. Once they were at a good pace, he began to speak.

   "Yuffie." He said

   "What?" She asked weakly.

   "...I'm sorry." He admitted.

   "For what?" She said, looking a bit resentful for a moment.

   "... I apologize... for ignoring you, ...which may have hurt your feelings." He said after a time.

   She looked away, surprised. Sticking her bottom lip out a bit, she put her chin in her hand. She had not really expected an apology, and began to wonder if maybe she had overreacted.

    _No. I was right, that was a crappy thing for him to do, and he should be apologizing._

   It was a strange thing for her, for someone to try to make amends for wronging her. She was used to always being in the wrong, even if she really, actually, wasn't. She had expected to just get her feelings out by being mad for a while, then forgetting about it. She had not prepared in her head for this.

   "Um... Thanks. That's very... mature of you. I guess." She said awkwardly.

   He stared out in the direction they were heading, expression serious, grim even, with a faraway look in his eyes. She knew he was probably being very hard on himself, despite the short apology. She understood why he did the things he did, but that didn't make it hurt less.

   "... I kinda thought... Like after a while I figured maybe I had thought we were friends, but maybe you didn't think the same thing... I don't know if I said that right... I feel a little better after the potion too, by the way..." She said, trying to keep it light.

   "If you think that you were not a friend to me, perhaps you don't have a very good memory." He said, expression unchanging.

   She turned to look at him in shock, becoming flustered.

   "I hate it when you do that! Stop doing that!" She yelled.

   "What is it you want me to stop?" He said, amused.

   "It's like, too intense! I don't know how to explain it, it's like, emotional and stuff!" She yelled, alarmed.

   He looked at her, glaring down out of the corner of her eye at him from atop the chocobo's back.

   "It makes you uncomfortable when people show emotion?" He asked.

   "Yeah, like sometimes... Like, when I was little I saw my friends mother cry. I never saw an adult cry before, not even when Mother died. I'm sure now that they did, but no one ever let me see it, not even my dad. This lady was crying out of nowhere, and I thought she must be actually dying?! I was so freaked out I couldn't move, then I ran out of the house... I guess it's like that feeling?" She explained.

   He said nothing.

   "It kind of sucks though. Now it's like, I'll just start crying and I don't know why. Sometimes I'll start and I can't stop? I found out when I got older that people expect women to cry, and nobody yells at you. But it's still so embarrassing. It's like I can't control myself." She continued.

  She watched him, he stared ahead just the same, but the dark look was gone.

  _Jeez, I didn't really have to say all that about the crying... I wish I would just shut up sometimes..._

   "Vincent... Look, I'm sorry too. Sometimes I go too far, and say some pretty fucked up stuff to you, and like, I know you're sensitive." She told him.

   He laughed a bit at the last part.

   "And I'm annoying as hell too. Like, I don't know why you even hang out with me." She said, putting her chin in her hands.

   He smiled a little.

   "Nothing unforgivable." He said.

   There was another growl heard from the pile of rocks to the right. Four bandersnatch came running this time, impatient for a meal. Vincent took them out one by one, while Yuffie stayed back, on the defense. When he checked their bodies, there was nothing.

   "What a bust... you'd think with more of them there'd be more of a chance..." Yuffie said, disappointed.

   Once again, Vincent set out to make up for time lost. They made their way in silence, each second seeming to drag on forever in the miserable frozen wilderness. Yuffie watched the moon peek out from behind the veil of a cloud, only to be hidden once more. She realized that though she had been hungry earlier, she was not anymore. In fact, she barely felt anything at all, except a dull pain all over her body. She offered Vincent a bar she had brought with, and he refused. Butterscotch was in a surprisingly good mood despite everything, and she figured that must be why the golden chocobo was the most prized. She had even heard stories of these birds crossing the ocean from one continent to the other, but didn't really believe them. She rested her head on Butterscotch's neck, beginning to succumb to her exhaustion. She closed her eyes for what seemed like a second, but when she opened them Butterscotch was stopped and Vincent was gently shaking her shoulder to wake her.

   "Don't fall asleep, you might not wake up." He said.

   She yawned, and Butterscotch mimicked her, making a soft "kweh" sound.

   "You need to stay awake, until you're more stable." He told her firmly.

   She sat up, feeling like death. Vincent spared no time getting them moving again, and she struggled to stay awake, even being jostled around on Butterscotch. She leaned forward, yawning, and Vincent glared at her. The last thing they needed, he thought, would be for her to fall asleep and fall off the chocobo further injuring herself, or for him to have to wake her up so many times that they lost time on their journey. She sat up again, wanting to cry.

   "You don't have any hypers or anything, do you?" She asked.

   "I don't have anything like that." He said.

   Things continued this way until they were at the end of the first big mountain. Vincent attempted to use his superior night time vision to find the fastest way to the next while staying at the ideal altitude as much as possible. He realized that it would take more time the more they went down too low, for they would just have to come back up later, but there were no bridges and he would have to move strategically in order to save time. He knew that the distance they were traveling was not really too far, if not for the terrain, but to bypass the mountains would take days. He would have to join her on the chocobo, so they could pick up speed.

   "Yuffie..." He started.

   "Wha... What!? I'm not sleeping!" She said defensively.

   "I need to be on the bird as well if we're going to make it. I just can't move at the speed the bird can, and my feet are starting to freeze up." He said.

   "You can use her name can't you?! Call her Butterscotch!" She said angrily.

   He sighed.

   "You need to let me on Butterscotch. I will try to guide you, and you guide the bir--- Butterscotch." He said, correcting himself.

   She whined, but stopped the chocobo. She waited for him to get on, but noticed his eyes were fixed on something in the distance. She followed his gaze and saw nothing.

   "What is it?" She whispered.

   "I don't know." He said quietly.

   She rolled her eyes, and kept looking. After a few seconds she saw light glinting off of something small. She immediately thought of treasure. She started the chocobo moving slowly towards it. Vincent moved ahead of her. After they covered a certain distance she realized that their target was moving closer to them. She motioned Vincent to stop, and the thing moved into the light of the moon. It was a small robotic looking creature that she recognized as an ice golem. Vincent's hand was at his gun in a flash.

   "No!" She whispered.

   He looked up at her and she pulled up her sleeve, removing a yellow materia from her armlet. She handed it to him and he placed it on his gun. He went ahead of her and the monster met him, attempting to cast an ice attack. He dodged it, diving in to steal and attack in the same move. It went down with one hit, and he had been able to steal a potion. He returned to Yuffie, giving back her materia. She inserted the materia into her armor. He checked her wound, and there appeared to be a smaller amount of fresh blood since the last potion.

   "Yuffie, can you remove your coat?" He asked hesitantly.

   "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you." She said with a judging tone.

   She unzipped it, but was afraid to remove it. She looked at him and he understood. She looked away and closed her eyes as he very slowly and carefully pulled the bloodied cloak away and over her shoulders. She shivered hard but kept her arms at her sides and out of the way.

   "So, how's it look, doc? Am I still in one piece? Nothing like, falling out, right?" She asked, fearing the answer.

   "No, everything is where it should be, other than some skin." He said.

   Her left rib cage had taken the hit, and a wide section of her side had been scraped. It wasn't deep, but the layer of flesh covering her ribs was alarmingly thin, and much skin and flesh was gone. The blood loss had stopped considerably with time and a potion but sections were still weeping. Her cropped turtleneck was ripped, as well as her cloak and small rocks and dirt had made it through and were sticking to parts. He should have done this earlier, he thought. He became worried about the possibility of infection.

   "Can I look? Like I don't wanna freak myself out you know?" She said.

   "I'm going to try to clean it with the potion, you might want to wait until then." He told her.

   He opened the bottle and motioned her to lean to the right. He slowly poured it over the rougher areas, washing the dirt out and healing the deeper parts that were still bleeding.

   "The bleeding is stopped, but be very careful not to re-open it." He warned.

   She nodded and finally looked down at her body.

   "Ooh... Damn... That's gonna be a BIG scar." She said, not sounding too concerned.

   He pulled her jacket the rest of the way off of her, and she sat up a little and helped him pull it out from under her. Once it was off he immediately began cutting it with his bronze claw.

   "HEY! What the hell are you doing!" She exclaimed.

   "I'm going to use this to bandage you." He explained.

   "What am I gonna wear? It's too cold..." She said dejectedly, realizing it was too late to stop him.

   He began wrapping a ragged, long strip of fabric around her torso, and tied it at the end. He handed the jacket back to her, and she realized he had only used the bottom portion of it, strategically cutting it into one long strip. She put the shorter jacket back on, zipping it up, though the lower half of the zipper had no coat attached.

   "This is a look... It's still not that warm though.... Well, good news is, my boobs were spared!" She said happily.

   Vincent gave her a short skeptical look, saying nothing.

   "Hey....!!! Don't give me that look! I get it, I don't have boobs, but you don't have to... ugh..." She trailed off.

   He unfastened the buckles of his cloak and took it off, placing it on Yuffie, boarding the chocobo before she had any time to protest.

   "Whoa, you don't have to..." She said.

   He reached around her to buckle the lower belts. She tried to move further away from him on the chocobo, obviously uncomfortable with his close proximity.

   "I can do it myself." She told him.

   He withdrew from her and tried not to worry about her possibly damaging a part of the only outfit he owned.

   "Yuffie... I'm worried about how thin you've gotten. Are you alright?" He asked tentatively.

   "Are you just asking because I lost my boobs?" She joked, finishing up the last buckle.

   "It's... not that. Please don't change the subject." He said, uncomfortable.

   "Well I've been busy, you know WRO, saving the planet, blah blah blah... And you know I'm not good with cooking and all that 'girly' stuff, and the junk I do eat just comes back up whenever I'm traveling, which is like, all the time lately..." She rambled.

   "No one is taking care of you?" He asked.

   "No more than anybody else, I'm not the princess of Wutai when I'm working, I'm just another WRO, and I'm glad for that. We all get rations, but I'm kinda picky I guess, like it's not that good you know?" She said.

   He didn't like her answer, but relented, not wanting to push her about a personal matter.

   "We need to go now, and we need to go quickly." He said.

 

 


	6. Cold

Vincent was not ready for the speed at which the bird took off, instinctively grabbing his cape that Yuffie was wearing.

   "You're choking me!" She yelled, exaggerating a fair bit.

   He let go, struggling to stay on, knowing he could not grab Yuffie's waist for her injury. It took her tired mind longer than it should have to realize this.

   "Uh, you can hold onto my shoulders I guess." She said quietly. 

   He gratefully took hold of her shoulders, as the bird seemed to go faster than ever. He sighed, feeling the weight of worry fall from his shoulders. They would make it this way, she would not die. He fought feelings of doubt that things could go so smoothly, it did not matter, he thought, in any event, by any means he would protect her life. 

   He would guide her, and she in turn would guide Butterscotch, this being the only communication they would have for some time. The silence, aside from the steady pattern of the chocobo's feet crushing the deep snow, and the scenery of the path they cut out through the dark became very monotonous to Yuffie and she felt her exhaustion return stronger with every valley, every hill, and each stone itself they passed. She leaned forward, wishing more than anything to simply rest her head on Butterscotch's neck as she had before, but Vincent's steady grip on her shoulders held her upright, keeping her from losing consciousness. 

   In the quiet Vincent's mind wandered, roved through past and present, a great many thoughts came to him, though he dwelled on none. Though these thoughts distracted him enough to become unaware of some of his pains, conversely, the situation he was in prevented him from being lost entirely to daydreams. At that time he didn't particularly enjoy the idea of conversation, and wished to be home already, tired of hours upon hours of traveling in less than ideal conditions. 

   Snow began to pick up in the early morning, and though Vincent didn't feel as though there would be a storm, he was really feeling the cold as the thick flakes clung to him, melting and soaking through his shirt, the wind absolutely freezing his face and arms. He himself was beginning to have difficulty staying awake with his body numb, watching Yuffie repeatedly drift off to sleep. He would focus on brushing the snow off of Yuffie every once in a while, though it would confuse her as she drifted between wake and sleep. 

   "Yuffie..." He started, shaking her shoulder a bit. 

   "Hmm..?" She murmured.

   "Do you have any more stories to tell me?" He asked. 

   She sat up a little straighter, becoming conscious enough to realize she should not be sleeping. 

   "I don't know, Vince, I'm a little tired..." She said.

   He watched her. He noticed that he had not once thought of how strange it was to spend so much time with her after being apart so long. 

   "Sing a song for me." He said.

   She laughed a little, looking back at him for an instant.

   "Oh, you're serious? I think I remember some songs from when I was a kid, but they're in Wutaian." She replied. 

   "I don't mind." He told her. 

   She looked back at him again, but he was watching the horizon, where she thought she could see the faintest sign of sunrise. She at once couldn't believe that much time had passed, and felt like she had been riding for an eternity. She laughed nervously, rather afraid of the idea of singing in the presence of another, but understood why he had asked her to. 

   She began singing, and though he could not understand the words, it did certainly sound to him a song sung by children. Butterscotch became excited by the sound and warbled along with her. Yuffie took out some greens from one of the saddlebags, and on hearing her do so Butterscotch stopped so abruptly that she nearly threw both of her riders off. Yuffie, not missing a beat, handed her the greens which she ate swiftly, warbling louder than ever. Vincent, thoroughly awake and mildly upset, looked to Yuffie, patiently waiting for her to get the bird going again. 

   "Uh, sorry..." She said.

   Yuffie and Butterscotch's voices rang out quite loudly, and for a while Vincent began to regret his request. It was a relief to him to see her showing some signs of life, however, after such a quiet, dangerous night. She had the wild sort of energy that a child gets when it's past their bedtime, like a flame burning brightly, just to go out quicker for it. 

   As time passed he witnessed the unmistakable signs of a sunrise through the now rather heavy snowclouds. It would have seemed that all was going quite well for them, as they had finally entered into familiar territory and he knew they were close to town, if not for the weakening and dying out of Yuffie's songs. Not only had she lost the energy to sing, but she could no longer seem to fight sleep. Vincent had called her name, trying many times to wake her, even shaking her shoulder had no effect. Forced to give up, he held on to her carefully, avoiding her injury, to keep her from falling off. 

   Fortunately for him, her chocobo recognized that there was a village nearby and led the way. He felt a sinking, sick feeling looking down upon her limp body in his arms, fearing that more than sleep may overtake her. She was breathing, but her face was deathly pale. He lightly brushed her wound with his good hand, and there was fresh blood.

 


	7. Cold

   They were finally in town, and it couldn't have come soon enough for Vincent. He pointed in the direction of his home for the bird, still unsure of how to control its movement but hoping it would be able to carry him faster than his own legs could.

   "That way!" He commanded Butterscotch.

   The chocobo, rather than changing directions, stopped altogether. He prepared to dismount, frustrated, but suddenly remembered something. He reached in the same saddlebag he had seen Yuffie use earlier, and searching for a moment, found a bundle of greens. As he had come to expect, the chocobo's interest was piqued by the noise, and he held out his hand for it. Butterscotch bit into his gauntlet just the same as the greens, not recognizing it for a human hand, and he reflexively dropped them on the ground, withdrawing his hand in pain. As the chocobo ate, Vincent wondered if he was being foolish to waste even this much time on the bird instead of traveling by foot, as he genuinely feared for Yuffie's life. He sighed raggedly, and pointed once more in the direction of his residence.

   The bird made an excited noise and followed his direction without a hitch. He thought of how upset Yuffie would be if she knew how quickly her bird's loyalties would change. When they were at his doorstep, he leapt from the bird, and crumpled up into a pile in the snow, unable to control his legs. He struggled to stand up, supporting himself on the front of his house. He unlocked his door and gathered up Yuffie, and unsteadily carried her through, shutting it behind him. He hit a lightswitch with his elbow, with no effect. He had not connected any light source to the plug that the switch was connected to, he remembered. He carefully set her on the floor and walked into the small kitchen area, turning on a light and grabbing a few boxes locked up in the cabinets, then another larger box from his closet and rushed back to Yuffie.

   He hurriedly unlocked the large box and equipped a piece of armor with materia slots on his wrist, then unlocked a smaller box and selected a glowing green materia, and placed it in his armor. He tentatively aproached Yuffie, crouching down and lifting her upper body, his left arm supporting her shoulders. He watched her drained, pale face as he checked her pulse. She was still alive. He put his hand over her wound to concentrate his power, and spoke the ancient words of the revive spell. A green light seeped out from the materia, growing brighter as it enveloped Yuffie, washing the entire of the dim room in light that was not unlike the lifestream itself.

   "Pull through." He said solemnly.

   He continued watching her, after the light faded from her. She lay still, and though he imagined it was in his mind, her face looked to him like someone who was simply resting peacefully.

   "Yuffie..." He said.

   She stirred slightly, and opened her eyes. She looked at him, confused.

   "Vincent?" She murmured.

   She tried to sit up, and he helped her right herself.

   "Are you alright?" He asked.

   She looked around at the unfamiliar room.

   "Yeah, I think so, where are we?"

   "This is where I live." He replied simply.

   As she looked around, her first impression was that the house was rather small, having only one bedroom with a kitchen attached, but well furnished and very homely, though it seemed like a style that would have been popular a long time ago. She could see that he had not been there for quite some time, cobwebs were in the corners and ceiling, and dust covered everything. She noticed there were many candles and a large wooden bookcase, and it gave her the feeling that she had woken up in some sort of fairytale set in the past.

   "Nice place. wouldn't'a thought it'd be so nice. Or, actually, I didn't think you lived anywhere at all." She said.

   "More of a storage room to me." He said, not really interested in the conversation.

   "You must'a knew this was the place when you saw such a tiny house in some awful village where no one wants to live. And it sure looks like you in here. I never would'a thought you'd be good at decorating. But why make everything look so nice if you're never here to see it?" She asked.

   He only half listened, thinking only of how close she might have been to death, and what he should do next. She sat on the floor, in torn, bloody clothes, still wearing his cape, but acted as if he had simply invited her over for dinner. He knew that she had been raised to fight, training as a ninja as long as she could remember, and her upbringing was a source of pride. Getting hurt occasionally was just another part of life for her. He still got worried, however.

   "Hello?" She said, waving her hand in front of his face.

   He looked at her, and she could see he had not been following the conversation.

   "Whatever. Are you ok? OH!" She exclaimed, jumping up.

   He held out his hand for her to stop, in vain.

   "Careful..." He said quietly.

   "Where's Butterscotch? I need some stuff out of her bags." She said, looking around.

   He looked towards the door, having forgotten about the chocobo. She ran towards the door, opening it with force, and there was Butterscotch, not having moved. She turned back to him throwing her hands out, palms up.

   "What the hell!" She yelled.

   She took some items from the saddle bags, taking the rest of the greens out to feed the bird. She placed some money in one of the bags and set her things just inside the door.

   "You must have been starving, huh?" She asked Butterscotch as she finished the last of her food.

   She sent the chocobo off, then came back into the house, closing the door. She looked at Vincent, who was still kneeling on the floor.

   "I guess its good you didn't send her off yet, but just so you know, you can send her to to nearest stable whenever you don't need her, she knows the way even if it's somewhere she's never been. And seriously, like, are you alright?" She said, picking up her things and holding them in her arms.

   "...I'm alright." He said, not very convincingly.

   She looked around, and set everything on the bed.

  _Jeeze... One bed... Hope I'm the one who gets it, honestly..._

   "Yuffie, go clean your wound." He said suddenly, standing up slowly.

   "What, like take a shower?" She asked hopefully.

   "You may if you wish, but don't get soap into your cuts." He said, walking towards the kitchen.

   She grabbed one of her bags and nearly ran into the small bathroom with excitement. It was rather plain, she thought, but she didn't know what she expected. She turned on the water, and looked around the shower. There was only one bar of cheap soap on the corner.

  _He doesn't even have shampoo? What the hell..._

   She left the bathroom to grab a smaller bag that had things like her shampoo and toothbrush in it. Vincent was gathering some first aid essentials, and she walked up to him to look closely at what he was doing. He looked at her, slightly confused, and she went back into the bathroom. He brought some alcohol and bandages over to the spot on the floor where they had been earlier. As soon as he set them down, he heard her scream. He rushed to the door.

   "Are you alright?" He asked.

   "YEAH, IT'S JUST REALLY REALLY COLD!" She yelled through the door.

   He sighed, and walked over to the the shelf, grabbing a book and sitting down on the bed. He looked at the things Yuffie had brought in, there were a couple different sized bags, but whatever they held wasn't obvious. Just as he opened the book to the page he had left a bookmark in, he heard another scream. He rushed over again.

   "Are you alright?" he asked.

   "YEAH, IT'S JUST LIKE REALLY REALLY HOT NOW!" She yelled.

   He got the book and decided to sit by the door to prevent having to get up any more times. He had turned on the heat earlier, but it was still barely warmer than outside, and he worried that it may be too cold for her when she got out. He tried to focus on what he was reading, but it unnerved him how long the water ran, with no other sound, and he imagined she might be passed out with no way of him knowing until it was too late. Finally, after what must have been over a half hour, the water turned off. It calmed him to know she was fine, and he continued trying to concentrate on his book. Again it seemed she was taking too long, though he could hear her talking. He wondered if she might be on the phone.

   He waited patiently for what he would have guessed to be around fifteen minutes before he knocked.

   "Are you alright?" He asked, getting rather tired of the question.

   She was startled by the knock, having forgotten what she was supposed to be doing. She had been having a conversation with the mirror, as she often did, but the talk had gone on for longer than she intended.

   "Uhh, yeah! Hold on a minute!" She said, starting to feel a little bad for wasting so much time.

   She brushed her teeth quickly. She was wearing the pajamas she had brought, a simple matching set, a button up long sleeve top and drawstring pants in pale blue-lavender cotton. She remembered the reason for the shower, and brought her shirt up mostly above her scrapes and tied it in the front. She looked at her reflection in the spot on the mirror where she had wiped away the steam from her shower, proud of her clever solution.

   She stepped out the door without looking down, tripping over Vincent, her elbows landing hard on the carpet.

   "What the hell! What are you doing!" She yelled.

   He moved out from under her, apologizing. He returned to his station in the middle of the floor.

   "Were you there the whole time!? That's so weird! Who the hell does that, how was I supposed to... OH! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" She yelled as she saw blood.

   She walked over and sat by him as he poured alchohol onto a cloth.

   "Look what you did!" She said, pointing at her scrapes that had begun to bleed again.

   He saw that her wound had reopened somewhat and looked down, the guilt he felt showing clearly in his face.

   "I am sorry." He said.

   "It's no big deal!" She said, regretting her words already.

   He hesitated to do what he had been planning. He knew it would hurt her even worse now.

   "I'm serious! I'm strong so don't worry about it!" She said, beginning to worry about him.

   "This will hurt, but it's important to prevent infection." He said, still not looking into her eyes.

   "You aren't telling me anything I don't know, so stop freaking out, it was just an accident." She told him.

   She inched closer to him, looking at him. Something about him seemed off, she thought.

   "Hey, look how I did my shirt, pretty clever, right?" She asked.

   He didn't respond, but poured a bit more alchohol onto the cloth. He looked at her, and she nodded. She turned away, so he would not see her face, and bit onto her hand. She was glad he was willing to do it for her, despite her brave act, she really couldn't stand things like this. If it was anyone else, she thought, she would be crying her eyes out already. He dabbed the disinfectant on her wound as gently and quickly as he could, while still thoroughly cleaning it. He set the cloth down and wrapped her up with sterile bandages. When it was over, she took her hand from her mouth, and tried to wipe the tears that had been streaming down her face. She untied her shirt, and smoothed out the wrinkles.

   Vincent had seen her tears, but would pretend not to notice. She had been very quiet, and he understood that she had been trying hard not to show her pain. He cleaned up, leaving her space to gather herself. When he had finished, he went over to her, getting down to her level.

   "Are you alright?" He asked, concerned that she had not moved at all.

   "Oh, yeah..." She said, seeming to wake up out of a trance.

   "Have you been feeling any dizzyness at all?" He asked.

   "Um, no, not since right after I fell." She said.

   "It should be alright if you sleep now, but I will check on you every few hours." He said.

   "Oh... Ok. I'm pretty tired I guess." She said.

   She realized suddenly that it must be well into the morning at this point, though there was no light coming through the windows.

    _Must be some pretty good curtains..._

   She stood up, and crawled into the bed. As she got under the blankets, she realized that she was very hungry. Deciding against saying anything, she rolled over to sleep, much too tired to eat. She opened her eyes again when Vincent layed down on top of the covers, putting on his reading glasses. Realizing he had forgotten his book, he held out his hand and the book moved into his grasp.

   "How do you do that?" She asked sleepily.

   He turned to her, surprised she was awake.

   "I don't know really, I only do that when I don't want to get up." He explained.

   "I would do that all the time if I could, it's cool." She said, closing her eyes again.


	8. Cold

  
   When Vincent opened his eyes it took him a few moments to remember where he was. The book he was holding was still open to the page he had been reading and his glasses were still on. He felt a rush of panic as he realized he had fallen asleep when he was supposed to stay awake to check on Yuffie. He looked over to the spot she had been sleeping, and she was gone. He looked around the room and she was not there. He slowly got up, his body stiff and sore, and walked to the bathroom. He knocked, and waited. There was no sound, and he carefully opened the door. It was unlocked, and again, she was not there. He grabbed his keys and left the house, locking the door behind him.

   It was already dark, and he sighed, disappointed in himself for oversleeping. He called for her, hoping she might still be near. He tried to figure out what might have happened, or where she might be. He immediately discounted the notion of a kidnapping, his doors and windows had been locked, and were heavily armored besides. That kind of noise would have woken him up. A likely scenario would have been that she had simply gone out to eat without waking him. In the worst case, she would be riding out in the wilderness on her chocobo. He decided that if he could confirm that her chocobo was still at the stables, he would know that at least she was somewhere in town.  
He didn't have to travel far before he saw someone. A middle aged man was chopping some firewood in his backyard.

   "Have you seen a young girl with dark hair?" He asked.

   "Yeah, my daughter. You lookin' for her?" The man replied.

   "No... She's not from here. It's not likely you would have seen her before." Vincent said.

   "I haven't been out today other than right now. It's gettin' damn cold already. I'm not ready for another winter." The man said, taking a break from his work, and lighting up a cigarette.

   "Do you know where the chocobo stables might be?" Vincent asked, crossing his arms as a gust of cold wind blew.

   "Near the front of town, you know, where travelers come in. You live 'round here?" The man asked.

   "Yes, though I don't know the town very well, I'm not at home very often." Vincent replied.

   "You must be the one who lives at _that_ house. Well, hope you find her. Didn't know there was a girl living there. My daughter doesn't have a lot of friends her age to play with, maybe they should meet sometime." The man said.

   "Thank you. I'll keep that in mind." Vincent said, not bothering to correct his misunderstanding.

   He started on towards the edge of town. As he got further on there were more and more street lamps lighting the way. The small village had become an even more popular spot for tourism despite the arctic climate, and in the last few years it grew a little larger, mostly in the way of restaurants, shops and inns. There was the ever popular winter sports, but also their winter holiday celebrations were becoming larger and drawing more of a crowd every year. Soon he saw a large sign with a chubby cartoon chocobo painted on, and headed towards it.

   He asked one of the workers if they had a golden chocobo. They did have one, and he asked to see it. It was Butterscotch, and she warbled at the sight of him. He thanked the worker and left. That meant, he thought, that she could be anywhere in town. He spoke to a woman working in a shop nearby. Upon entering, it seemed to be a small pharmacy.

   "Have you seen a young girl with short dark hair? She is not a local." He asked.

   "Yeah, I've seen a girl like that. She bought some things and left. Are you looking for her? She might be home by now, she seemed in a hurry, and I think I know why." The young woman told him.

   "You think she would have went home, and not another place in town?" He asked.

   "Almost sure." She said.

   He headed back quickly, and when he was within sight of the house, he saw her sitting in front of the door with her head in her hands. He rushed to her.

   "Yuffie... Are you alright?" He said, his tone not fully expressing his concern.

   He crouched down next to her, and when she looked up at him, tears were falling down her cheeks.

   "Why did you lock me out? I've been knocking... I can't even get in, all the windows are barred, you didn't answer your phone... This is just the worst." She said, looking down.

   "I'm sorry, I was out looking for you." He said.

   "Whatever, just hurry up and let me in!" She said.

   He unlocked the door, and she picked up her bag and ran past him into the bathroom. He entered the house and locked the door behind him. He sat down on the bed, and noticed that he had left his phone on the nightstand, which had a few missed calls. When she came out, she started rustling through her bags that were now on the floor by the dresser.

   "You should have woken me up before leaving." He told her.

   "It was an emergency!" She said.

   "You shouldn't be going out by yourself at all. I can get anything you need, you need to rest." He said.

   Anger flashed in her eyes, and she sighed, putting her face in her palm.

   "Maybe I didn't want to wake you up and ask you to go buy me pads! Ok? That's why I went out, because somehow, I forgot to take my pill after FALLING OFF A CLIFF and this is what happens! Somehow, I also forgot I was out and now my underwear are RUINED, but luckily my pajamas are fine because I only have ONE PAIR." She explained.

   He didn't meet her eyes, feeling rather unsettled. She continued arranging her things angrily, then finally got up and sat down on the bed beside him, arms crossed.

   "I'm sorry for yelling at you. I'm just like, super emotional and I can't think straight or anything. And I'm really hungry, so like maybe we can get something, I'll pay." She said.

   He didn't reply, and she started fidgeting.

   "So like, were you really worried about me?" She asked.

   "...I was worried." He replied.

   "How'd you find me?" She asked.

   "Hmm... I asked around, and checked that your chocobo was still here..." He started.

   "Did you see her? How is she?" She cut in.

   "She seems well... A shopkeeper told me that you were most likely already home." He said.

   "Oh, good. I hope they're feeding her well... I'm so hungry, I think i'm actually gonna die." She said tiredly.

   She took her regular clothes into the bathroom to change. When she came out she pointed to where her blood stained crop top was torn with a sad look. She changed back into her pajamas and grabbed her wallet, heading towards the door.

   "Lets go!" She said.

   "Wait." He said, standing up.

   He picked up his cape that she had left on the floor and put it on.

   "I can go for you." He said, watching her with no particular expression.

   His tone was flat, and she tried to read him for any weakness. There was none, as always, she thought.

    _Why's he always like this! You're not in charge of everything!_

   "I wanna go out! You can come with, but don't try to stop me, or there's gonna be a fight." She told him.

   "You need to rest. I will go." He said, his gaze unwavering.

   She frowned, shifting her weight to one leg and putting her hand on her hip, staring back at him unbelievingly. Despite her threat, she really wasn't up for another fight.

   "Look, I'm tired, but I wanna buy something to wear, then get something to eat. I have the right." She said simply.

   He looked away, frowning as well. He found it harder to to stand his ground when she calmly made her argument. He couldn't force her to stay, so he would have to go along with her. He followed her out, and she led the way towards lights in the distance.

   "Do you think it's too late for the stores to be open?" She asked.

   "It gets dark early here, we should have a while yet." He replied.

   When she saw a building that looked like a shop she ran inside. He followed, but by the time he got to the door she was already coming out.

   "Weapon shop." She said.

   She passed by some similar looking buildings until she saw a larger shop. They went in together, and she smiled as she saw some items of clothing along the walls. She rushed over and began sorting through some shirts, and Vincent looked around. They seemed to have a bit of everything, he looked through some shelves of food, and noticed they also had refrigerated goods along the walls, and some work tools in one corner. The prices were high, but he expected as much in an area of the world that was difficult to get to. Yuffie was already at the counter, and he walked over to meet her. She seemed to be in a hurry, nearly leaving before the shopkeeper could give her her change.

   Once again she was rushing in and out of shops faster than Vincent cared to keep up with.

   "Uhh... Weapon shop... Hehe.. Again.... Same one..." She said, embarrassed.

   When she didn't immediately return from one building, he waited outside, leaning against the wall, arms crossed. He looked at the moon, not thinking of anything in particular. He became aware of this, and realized he had become too distracted to dwell on the the things that tended to haunt him. It would often be that way when he spent too much time with Yuffie. Any distraction from his own thoughts, no matter how annoying or trivial, could be a relief. Perhaps, he thought, that could have something to do with his fondness of her. Somehow, in the chaos he would find peace.

   She burst out of the doors, and upon seeing him, waved at him to hurry.

   "We gotta get back before the food gets cold, come on."

   Yuffie started towards his house at a brisk pace, bags in hand.

   "Did you find what you needed?" He asked.

   "Yeah, I got some different outfits. Got one for you too." She said.

   He looked at her skeptically, which she didn't see.

   "Thank you." He said.

   "Geeze, I can't stand it. It's so damn cold here. Getting outta this snow hell is the only reason I'm not eating this stuff, like, right now." She said, rubbing her arms, covered only in her cotton pajamas.

   "Oh, wait. Stupid! Here, hold these." She said, holding out the bags to Vincent.

   He took them, and she rummaged through one of the clothing bags, pulling out a thick forest green jacket. She put it on, and roughly took the bags back from him.

   "I was like, I can't get changed out here, but like, there's a jacket. I can't believe I didn't even think about that." She explained.

   When they got home she threw the clothes bags on the floor, took off her boots and jumped into the bed, wrapping the quilt around her and taking her meal out of the bag, shivering. Vincent shut the door, locking it, and watched her eat her food in his bed.

   "I'm glad you're making yourself comfortable." He said in a disapproving tone.

   "What, you don't like it?" She asked with her mouth full.

   He looked away, fairly disgusted by her bad manners and the smell of the fast food.

   "Hey, I got you some too, like I said." She gestured towards the bag.

   She noticed the look he gave the food.

   "What, you got somethin' better? Which one of us is the princess here, geez." She said, laughing a bit before taking another bite.

   He looked at the large, out of date tv on top of his dresser. It was not on, but he didn't have a reply for her comment. It reminded him of something someone had said to him a very long time ago. If he remembered correctly, it was his partner in the Turks, Veld. Vincent had been used to doing whatever he pleased, and had to be reminded on a number of times that there was no room for pickiness in such a high-stakes line of work. He smiled slightly, remembering the times Veld had lost his patience with him for his lack of professionalism in what he had thought of as trivial matters. Memories like these always brought a certain amount of pain now, but recently he would recall many more of the good times he had.

   "Hey, that dinosaur work?" Yuffie asked.

   He didn't respond immediately.

   "Man... I shouldn't call it a dino I guess... That's the kind I had when I was a kid. I'm getting old..." She said, giving a shiver.

   "It should still work." He said, turning to her.

   "Feels outta place, seeing you in like, a house, or anywhere normal. Even this one. I can't believe this is happening. Feels like a dream..? Anyway, I'm done eating. I'm gonna go change, do whatever you want with the food." She told him, getting up out of the covers.

   She picked out some clothes from the bags, and left to the bathroom. He sat down on the bed, sighing. The smell of the food she had brought in had been making him feel sick. Eating didn't appeal to him, and he put her leftovers in the fridge.

   When she came out she did a turn, and stopped with a hand behind her head and a hand at her hip, showing off her matching grey pair of sweats.

   "I got you a pair to match!" She said.

   He looked away so she could not see his face.

   "Oh..." He said, trying not to grimace.

   She pushed him towards the bathroom with a wide grin.

   "Go try it on! But you might wanna take a shower first." She said, playfully holding her nose and laughing.

   While it was true that he didn't smell much of anything, she noticed that he never did, he was incredibly dirty from however long he had been outside, along with everything they had been through together. She couldn't believe he had gotten upset about her eating on the bed after he had all but ruined the quilt by lying on it earlier.

   He went into the bathroom and closed the door, if only to get away from her. He saw that she had laid out a folded pair of black sweats on the sink, and he moved them onto the cabinet that held the towels. Realizing he had forgotten something, he came back out and started looking through his dresser. Yuffie was laying on her stomach on the bed, kicking her feet, and started snickering when she saw him.

   "You're getting underwear, huh?" She said, covering her mouth as she could hardly contain her laughter.

   He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He found what he was looking for and headed back.

   "It's kinda weird, never thought about how The Great Vincent Valentine wears undies just like the rest of us." She said.

   He stopped in the doorway to the bathroom.

   "Am I really that strange?" He asked, quite sincerely.

   "Yeah. You're like that guy I found in a coffin after doing a scavenger hunt set up by an evil scientist, who cant be killed or die and your body turns into monsters and you can move stuff with your mind and you've been wearing the same outfit the entire time I've known you, if you told me some crap like, you were born out of an egg and raised by dragons three hundred years ago, I would probably just believe you." She said, making wild hand motions throughout.

   He nodded, appearing to be thinking quite deeply about it and closed the door.

 

 

   When Yuffie heard the door open she jumped off the bed excitedly and began inspecting him before he could take more than a few steps out. He stood up very straight, avoiding looking at her as he suddenly felt very self-conscious.

   "Hmmm, better than I expected. You actually make that look alright, must be cause you're tall and thin, like a model. Ever thought about that job? And the bagginess of it hides your horrible boney body." She said, making a dramatic intellectual pose.

   "Please let me through." He said.

   She laughed and sat back down on the bed while he tidied things up. She lay back, and closed her eyes, realizing that she was much more tired than she had thought.

   "Where is the remote?" She asked.

   He paused from lighting a candle, and began looking for it. It was on the dresser, as he had expected. He set it by her hand, and continued lighting candles, before turning the lights off. when he was done he sat on the edge of the bed, startling Yuffie awake.

   "Oh, you brought it." She said, picking up the remote and pressing the power button.

   "It's not working." She said, letting her head drop back down on the bed.

   He got back up and tried the power button on the television itself, before realizing it wasn't plugged in. He plugged it in, and pressed the button again, hearing the high pitched buzz as the screen slowly lit up the room.

   "Try it now." He said.

   "Huh? Oh..." She said as she realized it was already on.

   She tried to increase the volume, and it worked.

   "I wanna watch cartoons." She stated, changing channels.

   She sat up and moved to the top of the bed, getting under the covers. Vincent realized he had been standing there for too long, and retrieved the book he had been reading. He lay down on top of the covers much like he had the night before. He remembered the reason he rarely visited here, there was simply nothing to do.

   She didn't last very long watching tv before she felt like she couldn't keep her eyes open. The bed was comfortable, and though the room was rather cold, the quilt was thick and her pajamas were soft and clean. The smell of dust and aged paper made her think of quiet libraries, which were very boring but very conducive to sleep. She fought the urge to rest, propping herself up on her elbow.

   "How are you staying awake, just reading like that?" She asked.

   Vincent watched her over his readers for what she felt was too long before answering.

   "We haven't been awake for very long." He replied.

   She thought about what he had said, and realized he was right. It wasn't like her to sleep this often, and she figured it had to be a mix of the unexciting atmosphere and her period draining her energy. Vincent picked up a candle from his nightstand.

   "Let me look at you." He said.

   Confused, she watched him bring the candle closer, and let him put a finger under her chin, tipping her face up towards him. She looked down, shying away from his intensity.

   "Look at me." He said calmly.

   She struggled to keep looking at his bright red eyes, as he studied hers. After a long moment, released her from his stare, putting the candle back.

   "Your pupils aren't reacting in sync." He told her.

   "What's that mean?" She asked.

   He thought about whether or not he should bring her to a doctor. He, unfortunately, had not checked on her as she slept as he had planned, and she had made it through all right. He had noticed that she hadn't been as sharp as usual, but no extreme changes. However, her pupil changes concerned him.

   "Yuffie, you've suffered a head injury. It might be... Perhaps, you should see a doctor. This is not something I can be of much help with..." He said.

   She thought about the idea of seeing a doctor. It wasn't something she really wanted to do, but she was beginning to feel afraid, hearing him speak so seriously about it.

   "I don't even feel different, my head doesn't hurt or anything, are you sure we gotta go? Seems like a lotta trouble when they're probably just gonna tell me they can't do anything 'til something happens anyway. I mean, right? I've been to the doctor enough times to know there's a limit to even what they can do..." She said nervously.

   He nodded slowly, knowing that she was right, but still worrying about her.

   "If one more thing happens, we will go. And do not, under any circumstances, leave without me again. If you were to be injured again before you heal you will almost surely die. ...Take this time to rest." He said.

   She lay back in the bed again, clutching the blankets to her. She was relieved to not have to go, but more awake now with fear.

   "How do you know all that stuff, anyway?" She asked him.

   "I am much older than you, and have seen many things." He replied.

   She nodded, uninterested in his answer. She turned on her side, trying to get comfortable, but something felt missing. She remembered that she had not brought her bear that she always slept with.

   "I know the answer's probably no, but do you have any stuffed animals I can borrow?" Yuffie asked.

   Vincent looked at her for a minute, and shook his head. He got up and opened a cupboard, taking out a towel and rolling it up. He handed it to her, and without saying a word, got back onto the bed, re-opening his book. She took it, and gave him a look before rolling back over.


	9. Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a long time since I've updated! I've had a lot going on, and I've been spending a lot of the free time I do have on my original web comics. I'm not done here though, so don't worry!

   Vincent looked up from his book, staring at the ceiling as if it would save him. Being in his own home was growing tiresome. It was never a place that he intended to live, he had been serious when he called it a storage room.

   Now it had become a hospital of sorts. Yuffie was practically hibernating, only waking up to eat, and then falling asleep soon after. He found that though he had always enjoyed reading before, reading for hours on end with nothing else to do was losing its charm. The only thing keeping him at it, he thought, was so he had an excuse not to clean the house. 

   The night before, he had gone to get some groceries while she slept, and when she had awakened in the morning she quickly mocked his choices. He had been aiming for a healthy meal that might help her regain her strength, but she did not appreciate the flavor or texture of what she called the "old people cereal". When she made him try it, he knew he would have to go to the store again. 

   There was a time when he had forced himself to enjoy health foods for the sake of his fitness, for efficiency in his work, as if his body were just another weapon that needed to be maintained. In hindsight, it may have just been a way to have control over some aspect of his life. At this point all that he had worked for was long gone, and he really couldn't stand anything but sweets and alcohol. After she had gone to sleep again, he had gone and bought some things that were definitely not going to help Yuffie recover, and oatmeal. He was slightly nervous about what her reaction would be to his new grocery run, and felt ashamed at not being responsible enough to get her to eat healthily. It just felt too hypocritical. 

   As he was thinking of it, she stirred. Opening her eyes, she lifted the blanket off of her, then closed her eyes and lay still for a while longer. Earlier she had had a low fever, but aside from that everything was normal, including her pupil reactions. She didn't claim to have any pain aside from a headache despite her injuries, but mentally she wasn't her usual self. 

   "Good morning, Yuffie."

   He was sure he did not know what time of day it was, or what day, or month, or year. He considered if he had been living closer to the way an animal does than Nanaki. He made a mental note of a possible conversation topic for the next meeting they would have. 

   As if she could read his train of thought, the first thing Yuffie did after getting out of bed was wordlessly open the door, close it, and leave to the bathroom. It was, much to his dismay, still daytime. Vincent got up to check if she had properly re-locked it. 

   He wondered if she had wanted to check the time, or just simply wanted fresh air but decided it too cold. She came out looking cheerful. 

   "Good morning! I want to play in the snow..." She trailed off, focusing on the wall beside her. 

   She huffed, scowling suddenly. She looked to him expectantly. He supposed he was meant to talk her out of something she already knew was a poor plan, but stayed silent out of lack of interest. 

   "Ugh, it's so BO--RING here, how do you live like this?!" She said.

   "I don't." He stated. 

   She let out a loud whine of frustration, collapsing to the floor dramatically. He couldn't be annoyed with such a display, as it mirrored his own feelings on their situation. She lay still, as if she had died of boredom, then kicked a few times before checking if he was watching. Seeing that she was out of his field of vision, she dragged herself over to the bed, folding her arms on the edge, to look at him.

   "I died. What are you gonna do about it?!" She asked. 

   He rolled his eyes.

   "When I wasn't sure if you died, I looked all over the world! I looked EVERYWHERE for you!" She said.

   He sighed, remembering the trouble he had caused. 

   "You've already died, where do you want me to look?" He said.

   It was her turn to roll her eyes. She slipped off the bed, hitting the floor again.

   "So that's how it is... You really are cold, huh? I bet that's why you live here..." She mumbled.

   He took a deep breath and got off the bed. He looked through the fridge and freezer. She got up and joined him noiselessly. 

   "I want noodles." She said. 

   He looked through the cupboard, fairly sure that he had not gotten anything like that. She tore open the freezer door, and gasped.

   "You got me chicken nuggets and pizza..." She said, hugging him.

   He was taken aback at the touch, responding awkwardly. She let go quickly. 

   "Sorry, I just got excited. I wasn't expecting that. I want the pizza though..." She said, sitting down at the table. 

   He took out the box, to read the instructions. 

   "I don't even know how to make stuff like that, you know? It's kind of tough sometimes if I'm on break from work, cause I live alone now." She said. 

   He shook his head, and motioned for her to come over. She pointed to herself incredulously. 

   "You want me to do it?! I'm sick and healing and stuff..." She said. 

   She reluctantly entered the small kitchen. The dim yellow lights made it seem even older than it was, and she wondered if the oven even worked. He presented her with the box, pointing to the first step.

   "What's 'preheating' mean anyway?" She asked.

   He showed her on the oven where the temperature options were. 

   "Set the temperature and wait for it to heat to that degree." He told her.

   She set it, and the oven turned on. 

   "That's it? I guess maybe I should have just tried this myself at home. I thought you were super cool for knowing all this stuff but maybe it's not that cool..." 

   He got out a flat round pan and cleaned it off, setting it on the counter. 

   "When it heats up, put this on the pan and put it in the oven for the time it says on the box. Then take it out and turn the oven off." He explained. 

   She nodded, going to sit down at the table again. 

   "How do you know about frozen pizzas? You're old." She asked. 

   He put the pizza back and sat down. 

   "Cloud likes them." He said.

   She laughed.

   "That must drive Tifa crazy since she's been on that health kick. She says meat has like some kind of poison in it now or whatever. She won't even let me have nuggies. She's probably right, but I hope she stops soon, nobody wants to visit because of all the vegetables. By the way, was there a table here before?" She asked.

   "I got it out of the closet earlier." He said.

   "Cool." She said.

 

 

 

 

   Upon waking up, Yuffie felt strangely her usual self. The headache had faded, and there was an absence of crushing fatigue and mental cloudiness. She had been quiet, as Vincent was still asleep. She noticed that he had begun to sleep almost as much as she had been.

  _I guess old habits die hard._

   She wondered if she left right now, and there were no loud noises, if he would keep sleeping for a few more years. As usual for him, he would stay eerily still, as if he were still in a coffin with no room to turn. She thought he was sleeping on top of the covers at first to make it feel less like they were sharing a bed, but then remembered that he was used to that as well. 

   Whenever she was confronted with the way he lived, she felt sad for him, but a little impressed at the same time. He lived remarkably freely, staying anywhere in the world, for however long or short a time as he wished. Though it was true that people generally did not receive him well if they didn't already know of him, and even close friends didn't know how to react to his strangeness at times, she wondered how it felt to be like him. It seemed to her like he was completely free from social norms, never changing his clothes, not sticking around for boring conversation, only eating what he wanted to, not using blankets, not coming home, sleeping for days at a time, apparently not using shampoo. 

   She tried to hold on to as much freedom as she could, but she was the only child of Godo, and her future had been laid out for her from birth. She felt like she had been battling with everyone's high expectations for her, and failing at every turn for so long that even Vincent's lonely life seemed enviable. Her new work with the WRO was refreshing at first, but was starting to feel like more of the same lately. It seemed like the better she did, the more responsibility they piled on her. She had hoped that with more experience, she would gain respect, but as usual she only felt looked down on. 

   She shook her head, angry at herself. 

    _Look at yourself, you're just sitting on the floor in the dark, being jealous of Vincent, of all the weirdos. Get a grip. You really did get hit in the head._

   She stood up, and began to pace. The boredom was killing her. Again. She opened the door to check the time. It was night. She watched the moon for a moment, listening to the wind pass through the bright snow covered trees. A burst of cold wind whipped by her into the house, and she closed the door. 

   In the dark she struggled to light a match, holding the flame to a candle's wick. She carried it to the bookshelf, and looked through the titles. She didn't see anything interesting, as she expected, as the only sort of reading that really interested her were comics. She wished she had brought some with, but she had already read all of hers as soon as she got them anyway. She pulled out a book at random, set the candle on the table, and wiped the dust off of the book onto the carpet. 

   She noticed Vincent's bookmark wasn't very far into the book. 

_I wonder if he thought it was boring too._

   She only read the first few pages before becoming lost in thought again. She realized that she had not been woken up by Vincent's nightmares since being there. 

  _Maybe he's getting better._

   She looked at him, arms folded across his chest like a body interred, boots still on in bed. He had not changed out of the sweats she bought him, and it was very odd to see him out of his usual tattered outfit. She looked away, feeling it was too weird to watch him sleep.

   In the past, she remembered almost every night when Vincent was in her party, she would wake up in a cold sweat at some point. There would be a heavy dark air to the room, that would only cease after she had woken him up. She figured she must have been more sensitive than the others, as it didn't seem to bother them, at least not enough to wake them. She had noticed that Nanaki tended to sleep far away from him, however. 

   She considered asking him about it when he woke up. She found the place she had left off in the book, preparing for a very boring night. 


End file.
